Well, Today was the last day of my first round of making Friendship Bread Starter. I added all the necessary ingredients and then I divvied it up into freezer bags. I ended up with far more than the recipe said I would. Hmmm. Those baggies have 1 cup of starter in each and I promptly put those into the freezer for future use.
I then used 1 cup to make my first round of Amish Friendship bread. At first I thought I would make this recipe, but decided against it. I wanted to make something Chris would really like too. I've since tasted the bread and it is just 'okay.' I don't know if I did something wrong or I just don't like the recipe.
I've got plenty of starter in the freezer so I'm hoping it was the recipe and not what I did. ;-) But, hey, being willing to try new things is part of what makes life fun isn't it?? I'll keep plugging along in my journey of bread-baking.
Does anyone have a tip or two on Amish Friendship Bread??
It is almost October and Fall is definitely in the air. It is still quite warm here and I find myself wondering if the cool air will ever arrive. Thankfully, it always does and I just can't wait. One thing that always hits me in the fall is the desire to get up and go. I want to see the fall colors and enjoy a good hike in the crisp air. Such a welcome retreat when the heat has been unbearable for months.
In November, Chris, Caleb, and I are going camping with our ever growing circle of friends (We keep having kids!). We'll actually be in tents and sleeping on the ground. Yep, roughing it! This will be Caleb's first overnight camping trip and I know it will be an interesting experience.
One thing that I am really looking forward to sometime in the future is being able to get a nice cabin in the mountains with Chris and Caleb (and whoever has since arrived) and enjoy a FAMILY vacation. I just know it will be lovely bliss. I found this website for vacation rentals where you can plan a family vacation by dealing with the actual owners of cabins, etc. and I thought that was pretty cool. It seems so much more personal. You can search for available rentals in any of the 50 states, including Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. When you find the rental spot you want to try you can email the owner and go from there. Cool, huh?
Check Them Out and Happy Vacationing!!
This post sponsored by vlbo.com
I just felt like posting some pictures of my boy today. Also, Chris told me that I haven't posted enough pictures lately. There have been times when people come into his office and they want to see recent pictures of Caleb. Chris then says, "Well, Sarah has a blog! Let me pull it up and I'll show you some pictures.....Hmmmm....Scrolling...scrolling....scrolling...Hmmmm....well, I guess she hasn't put any up lately. I'm sorry." That night I here, "Honey, where are the pictures? I tried to show off your blog and there were no pictures!" TheSe are for you, Honey! Now, go show off my blog!
Here is Caleb in his new jeans and t-shirt. They are HUGE on him and the pants are 12 months. They came with a belt and I had to alter that to make the pants stay on his hips. Caleb is so little around the waist that 6-9 month pants fit him well, but they are too short. What's a Mommy to do?
I was baking that day and sadly also having a bad day for some reason. I was rather grumpy to be honest. The Lord then gave me a boost in mood when I turned around and saw that Caleb was trying to be like me and was wearing one of my oven mitts. All I could do was smile, laugh a little, and forget about why I was so moody.
Here is my couch potato watching his Baby Einstein video. When I left him he was sitting up straight and nice and proper. I guess the video was so good that he had to get more comfortable and enjoy the show.
Our family digital camera, a Sony Cybershot, is quite sentimental to us and carries quite a history. It was when I requested a digital camera for Christmas from my Dad that Chris and I told him that we were pregnant with Caleb. Here's how it went:
Me: "Hey Dad! I think a digital camera would be a great Christmas present for us this year!"
Dad: "Really? Hmmmm...I see."
Me: "Yeah, we are going to need to take tons of pictures in a few months."
Dad: "OK."
Me: "Dad? Are you catching what I'm saying?"
Dad: "Yeah, you are making a strong hint for a camera." (He wasn't quite catching the other hint.)
Me: "True.....because....Chris and I are 99.9% sure we are pregnant!"
Dad: (Wide Eyes and Big Grin)
The rest is history.
Needless to say, we got our wonderful camera for Christmas and we have taken tons of pictures. That camera also went on our family trip to Poland this past summer. We filled up a 256 MB Memory stick and half of a 2 GB memory stick on just that trip.
Sometimes, Chris catches me perusing the pictures of Caleb when we were still in the hospital and he was only a couple of days old.
Well, the sad side of this story is that not too long after our trip to Poland my darling little boy pulled on the strap to our Cybershot and pulled it crashing to the ground. (Can you hear the funeral music?) The camera that recorded my son's first moments in this world and our trip to Chris' ancestral land is GONE. (Note: I had JUST downloaded a bunch of pictures onto our computer when the camera breathed its last.) Aaaahhhh! Now, I am borrowing a digital camera from Chris' parents until we can make a trip into town to shop for another camera.
There are so many things that I know I can do with my camera when I finally get a good replacement. One thing I've been dabbling in is digital scrapbooking. I confess I'm not very good at it but it sure is fun. I love looking around the web for great scrapbook page ideas . There is so much talent and inspiration out there. The time for dabbling has been quite limited but I think I'm going try again soon. I'll keep everyone posted and perhaps show some pages here.
Anyway, I LOVE my Camera. I don't know what I would do without it...or my borrowed camera....or my soon to have NEW camera. Can you tell??
This is a sponsored post by Ritz Camera.com
When I was kid my absolutely favorite show was Road to Avonlea
Road to Avonlea Season 1
Road to Avonlea Season 2
Road to Avonlea Season 3
Road to Avonlea Season 4
Road to Avonlea Season 5
Road to Avonlea Season 6
A few months ago, Chris realized that we weren't REALLY having a Sabbath in our house. Sunday was the most relaxed day of the week but it was so easy to let a little work here and there creep in and next thing we know we were working on stuff all weekend including on the Sabbath. We have since reclaimed our Sabbath. The first thing we changed was that we started going to church on Saturday nights (a great option at our church). We serve during the first service and then attend the second service. That leaves Sunday completely open. Then we instituted the "Sabbath Candle." This is a candle that stays on our kitchen table but it is only lit on Sundays. Every Sunday morning, assuming we are at home, Chris leads us in a family prayer and we light the candle. The candle then stays lit ALL DAY until we go to bed that night. So, whenever we walk by and see those little flames flickering we are reminded that it is the Sabbath and we know WHO's day it really is.
The Sabbath Candle Works For Me!
I am on week 4 of working out in the weight training section of the YMCA. I am amazed at the differences I am feeling now that I've added weight training to my regimen. The biggest thing is the increase in confidence. I felt really good about my time on the treadmill or the eliptical machine but the weight training boosts me up everytime I achieve a new weight. Oh, and my jeans are talking to me. Yeah! Anyway, I have experienced two great mysteries that pertain to the weight room. I am going to put these questions out there and hope I can get some responses.
1) Why do men walk around like peacocks when they are in the weight room?
2) Why do men have to grunt when they are lifting the weights? (There are some women at my YMCA who lift some pretty heavy weights and they NEVER grunt.)
Anybody have any ideas about these mysteries??
"If we could understand everything God does, then He'd have to be a small god--small enough to fit in our little minds."
~ Randy Alcorn ~
After several days of just stirring once a day, Sunday was quite exciting because I got to add things to my Friendship Bread Starter. I added 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, and 1 cup sugar. (The flour and sugar were mixed together to help prevent clumping of the flour.)
Here we are about to start.
Here we are after all the mixing and stirring. You can already see all the bubbles. It must be working.
I have started reading Jesus Among Other Gods
Young dreams may be wild ones, but they are never corrected by ridiculing them. They must be steered by a loving voice that has earned the right to be heard, not one enforced by means of power.
I found this video on Snopes.com and I was brought to tears. I am not a beer drinker, but Budweiser does come out with some awesome commercials and this is by far their best. This commercial was released only once, during Super Bowl XXXVI, as a tribute to New York City after the incidents of 9/11. All I can say is, "WOW!"
I guess I know where I stand, huh? Notice the blue mouse? That is Eowyn's favorite thing in the whole-wide world. Sometimes I think I have to compete for her affections.
I included this picture to give you some perspective. Our freezer is fairly deep.
I wish I could show you everything that is underneath.
How perfect is this?! I just wrote a post about my passion for baking bread and my new adventures into bread starters and look what I found. I was looking at a great blog called A Year in Bread and I saw a little button and I was intrigued. I did a little Google-ing and here it is.
Okay, I LOVE baking bread. It has become my new passion/hobby. I have not bought bread in months. My entire family is loving this new endeavor of mine. Caleb especially loves his PB&J's with homemade bread. Anyway, I am growing more adventurous and I want to stretch my wings. This dreaming is taking me into the world of Friendship Bread. I can't believe it. I NEVER thought I would step into the world of bread that requires a starter. I've already made my first sourdough starter and it is in the fridge waiting for the first batch. Watching that starter form was so much fun that now I'm going to make a Friendship Bread Starter. That one takes 10 days! Today was Day 1. Do you want to join me in this adventure? I'll try to take pictures as we go. Here we are for Day 1.
Here is my entire setup. (Please pardon the less than tidy kitchen table.)
And this is what the starter looks like on Day 1 after about 3 hours of fermenting.
One of the best things I have done for the organization of my kitchen is create my personal cookbook. I am sure there are plenty of people out there who do the same thing, but I love it so much that I just had to share. As I read magazines and I see recipes I want to try, I will rip those recipes out and put them in their own little paper protectors and clip them into my own cookbook. It sure beats having a bunch of magazines with dog-eared pages. (Don't tell anyone, but I have some 'hot' recipes too. I took them from a magazine in a doctor's office.)
When it comes to my cooking abilities I would call myself a "Dreamer." I look at recipes and dream about them and I have visions of actually making it in my very own kitchen. Sometimes if I dream long enough I will get the guts up to really making it. I have had great successes and a bit more failures. But, I am learning. My personal cookbook has gotten so big lately because of all my dreaming. It is especially getting fat on my bread recipes. (Ha ha! Catch that carb joke?) Anyway, check out the picture below. The cake recipe on the right is one of those "dream" recipes." I think I might have enough nerve around Christmas.
My Personal Cookbook Works For Me!
If I could pick one word to describe Caleb today it would GRUMPY. OH. MY. WORD!! The drama is crazy. Let me explain why. The Doctor put him on a cough medicine for seven days and a steroid for 3 days to help with his Croup (or The Crud as Chris calls it). The doctor warned me that the steroid will make him have a big appetite and affect his mood. Not my boy! He is the most cheerful 14 month old to ever walk this earth. I've had people say so. Surely his mood wouldn't be that bad. HA! Today he was walking through the living room with a toy and he accidentally dropped it. No big deal right? Wrong! He had a complete meltdown as he stood there and looked at his toy. It was almost like he was saying, "I dropped my toy and now I'll never get it back again!! WHAAAAA!!!" Caleb has NEVER been this sensitive. I have a feeling this is going to be a LOOOOOONG 3 days. I'm sorry if I am scarce for that time. At least you now know why. But, then again, I might come here quite often to protect my sanity. ;-)
"They gave our Master a crown of thorns.
Why do we hope for a crown of roses?"
~ Martin Luther ~
I found this fun tool on Flickr thanks to Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer. You just enter your name and your computer creates a really cute version of it. And, if you don't like that particular version you can click on the individual tiles until you find what you like. Cool, huh?
UPDATE: Caleb has the croup. His cough continues to sound pretty bad but I am thankful that he doesn't have an infection and doesn't have to take antibiotics. He was given a prescription for a cough syrup and steroid to help with the croup. The doctor said the steroid could cause him to be a lot hungrier and a lot moodier. Hmmmm. These next couple of days could be interesting. ;-) I'm just thankful he is okay.
Caleb's cough isn't getting any better and actually sounds worse. :-( I'm taking him to the doctor this morning. I'll be back soon with updates.
Concerning the spiritual state of his family; [the father] ought to be very diligent and cautious, doing his utmost both to increase faith where it is begun, and to begin it where it is not. Therefore, he must diligently and frequently bring before his family the things of God, from His Holy Word, in accordance with what is suitable for each person. And let no man question his authority from the Word of God for such a practice.
--John Bunyan
Last night when Chris, Caleb, and I were going on our Family Date Caleb started coughing a good bit. He had just had a good swig of water from his sippie cup so I figured he had just swallowed some the wrong way. Well, this morning he woke up coughing some more and a good bit snotty and sneezy. I guess I'll be spending the day at home this Saturday and probably not going to church. Oh well! I'll check back in when I get a chance. Pray that Caleb gets better soon. He is playing fine and eating okay. He just gets frustrated when I chase him around with a tissue in my hand.
Have a great weekend!
I saw this poem printed in my MOPS group's newsletter and then I found it here online. It reminded my of my own Mom and I just had to share.
Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the
meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids
ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal,
eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a
Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you
can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
different from what other kids had, too.
Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all
times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
had to know who our friends were, and what we were
doing with them. She insisted that if we said we
would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an
hour or less.
We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve
to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We
had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to
cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash
and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.
She always insisted on us telling the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time
we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had
eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really
tough!
Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn
when they drove up. They had to come up to the door
so she could meet them. While everyone else could
date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until
we were 16.
Because of our mother we missed out on lots of
things other kids experienced. None of us have ever
been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all
her fault.
Now that we have left home, we are all educated,
honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean
parents just like Mom was.
I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
It just doesn't have enough mean moms!
It has been just over a month since I joined PayPerPost. I am sure my regular readers have noticed a few posts of sponsored content where I've written a little "Sponsored by..." blurb or seen little ads along with the post. PayPerPost has been a dream come true for this amateur blogger. I am still so excited about the possibilities. The idea of being paid to blog just blows my mind. I never knew that it would become true in my lifetime. Now, that it is true, I have gained confidence in my writing and I'm even considering writing in other avenues. Exciting, huh? I've made more money doing PayPerPost than my other ventures working at home. When you calculate how quickly you can write a post and then figure that into an hourly wage, PayPerPost is awesome. It sure does help when you are a Stay-At-Home Mom and you want to support your Hubby as much as possible. Go ahead and check them out for yourself.
As a mother of a fourteen month old little boy and one who wants to have another child soon I am always thinking about trying to lose those extra pounds I have hanging on. Yes, I was blessed to have lost all my pregnancy weight pretty quickly and I have the exclusive breastfeeding I did for the first four months to thank for that. But, I had some extra weight on me when I got pregnant and I have a very happy marriage to thank for that. ;-) I guess I got a little too comfortable.
I am feeling crunch time now because I really want to have another sweet baby. I want to lose those extra pounds and keep them off for awhile before I get pregnant. I am trying to tap into the habits I established when I lost over 40 pounds before I got married. One of those habits that I really enjoyed was that I would always give myself a CHEAT day on the weekends. I would eat anything and everything I wanted for one day. You would think that I would gain weight because of those days but it was actually the opposite! I would lose a pound or two each weekend because of those Cheat days. I thought I was onto something and I still tell my friends about that tactic.
Well, guess what?! I really was onto something BIG! The Cheat to Lose Diet follows that very same philosophy. The major difference, though, is that they actually have science to back them up. I just went based on experience (A + B = C). I love this idea because I have a terrible sweet tooth or what my Dad calls a "Fat Tooth." Whatever you want to call it, I've got it. I can't go weeks on end without a little indulgence and the idea of a diet that incorporates that into it is a little taste (ha ha) of heaven for me. You just cheat strategically here.
The Cheat to Lose Diet has a book that details all the lovely findings behind the diet. There is also an online community where you can follow the program with other people. It has been proven that more people lose more weight when they use online diet plans than those who do it alone. The customized-to-you program will provide weekly meal plans so that you'll eat the right foods at the right time. You'll get a library of recipes, a fitness plan, and an online community to show support.
Go check them out and Happy Cheating!!
For those who don't know, Chris made his career change into the mortgage industry. He is working as an assistant/partner to an area mortgage lender. He is thrilled to be back in the business and he is jumping in head first. I am so proud of him and all his hard work.
I saw this really neat idea today. Those who have been to closings know how much paper is shuffled through, handed out, and signed. It is tough to keep up with it all and overwhelming. Your brain is swimming by the end of it all. You just bought a house! Yeah!! But, you feel like a deer in the headlights. What can be done about this craziness.
Well, check out electronic closings. There is a company called Encomia that specializes in just that. Basically, instead of all the loan documents being delivered in paper format they are converted into an electronic format and the closing is conducted on a computer. You view the documents on the computer, sign the documents on the computer, and completely close the loan...where? On the computer. Think about how much time that would be saved because no one has to shuffle through papers and wonder if they got all the appropriate copies. Not to mention how much energy that would be saved not producing all that paper. The website for Encomia claims that closing times can be cut down to 15 minutes. Wow!
Being that Chris is re-entering the mortgage industry I am excited to see the developments that are being made to make everything that much easier. Aren't you??
This post sponsored by Encomia.com
"The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love."This quote has come at a very timely season in my life. Let me explain by explaining what happened about a week ago. I was riding home with Chris and I was feeling rather low about the state of my friendships. I didn't understand why I am always the one who must call someone to have a conversation or to get together and do something. "Why must I always be the one?! Is it wrong for me to want to be the one who is pursued for once? Is that selfish?" I thought.
Henry Scougal (The Life of God in the Soul of Man ), quoted by John Piper in The Pleasures of God
